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Planning Department projects $6M fee surplus, seeks $3M supplemental to reduce permit backlog
Summary
Planning Department staff told the commission it is projecting about $6 million in surplus fee revenue for the fiscal year and requested a $3 million supplemental appropriation to hire 10 positions, improve permit-tracking IT, digitize files and fund part of the Central Corridor EIR.
Planning Department finance staff told the commission the department is projecting a fee revenue surplus of roughly $6,000,000 for the current fiscal year and proposed a supplemental appropriation request of approximately $3,000,000 to address a permit backlog and fund several work items.
Finance Manager Keith DeMartini said the surplus reflects higher volumes and larger projects: "we are projecting over a $6,000,000 revenue surplus in our fee revenues at this time." The supplemental request would fund 10 positions (Planner I, Planner II, four Planner IIIs and four support staff), office reconfiguration and IT improvements including digitizing historical case files, AutoCAD and transportation software, Wi‑Fi and storage capacity, and about $45,000 for permit-tracking training plus an additional $250,000 to complete Central Corridor EIR analysis.
Director Grama explained the approach: staff propose to place funds in a project fund and hire staff over a 2 year and three‑month period to spread costs rather than spending the full surplus in a single year. "We're proposing... to put it in what's called a project fund so that we can actually use it over a 2 year and 3 month period," he said.
Why it matters: staff argued the money will allow the department to reduce permit and review backlogs, provide improved public services, and fund software and training tied to the permit/project tracking system that will be rolled out later in the year.
Next steps: staff will return to the commission next week with a formal request for approval; commissioners asked for more detail on position timing and measures to show improved permit-review performance.
